15 Straight At Home: Nets 116, Pistons 104 (GAME GRADES)

The Pistons are bad, and the Nets took advantage of that with a good combination of three-pointers, post-ups, and drives to the basket. They defended well, staying home on the pick-and-roll and switching at the right moments, and other than some athletic dunks and a continuation of their year-long rebounding issues, the Nets closed this one out strong.

15 straight at home now.

Deron Williams POINT GUARD

Put up some solid minutes after a rough start that featured two badly missed layups (one an open layup, one a blocked shot tossed into Kyle Singler’s arm), distributing the ball well and extending his league-best streak of games with at least one steal to 25.

Shaun Livingston POINT GUARD

This might be proximity bias, because I’ve watched every minute Livingston’s played this season, but everything he can do is evident now. The Nets starters play far better when he’s on the floor. He’s one of the best post scorers for a guard in the league. He can get his eight-foot jumper off over almost anybody. His assist numbers underrate his passing ability. He bounces off the floor en route to the rim.

I WANT THE NEWS, NOT THE WEATHER. MORE LIKE BACON FAT. TIME TO YELLOW SUBMARINE ALL OVER YOUR FACE? DOES THIS GAME GRADE MAKE NO SENSE? NEITHER DOES YOUNG SEYMOUR DEFENDING LIKE YI’S CHAIR, CROSSING OVER LIKE JAMAL CRAWFORD AND HITTING STEP-BACK JUMPERS ON HIS WAY TO THE PHILIPPINES PRACTICE FACILITY.

DON’T TELL ME THINGS GOTTA MAKE SENSE IN BLATCHELAND.

Andrei Kirilenko SMALL FORWARD

Returned to the floor for the first time since spraining his left ankle on March 23rd, and made an immediate impact. He picked up two quick steals, the second he anticipated before the Pistons even knew they were going to make the pass. It was quietly incredible.

Mirza Teletovic POWER FORWARD

The Nets just kept running pick-and-pops with him on the floor and he just kept burying three-pointers. Teams tend to gameplan more in the playoffs, but they might also place too much attention on the stars, which would leave role players like Teletovic open. This game stands as a reminder: he’s dangerous if he’s open, and if he can make his shots in big moments, he could swing some playoff games.

Jason Collins CENTER

TWIN, SCORER. As many points as Greg Monroe and a decent job on Andre Drummond? I’ll take that from the last player on the bench any day.

Mason Plumlee CENTER

Quick foul trouble for Plumlee kept him out of most of this game, but contributions from Blatche and Collins meant they didn’t miss him much. But the way he’s played brings up an interesting question: when Kevin Garnett returns, does he usurp Andray Blatche’s spot in the rotation?

Good win for the Nets against a team they don't normally match up well with. I would have given Blatche a B+. He played well most of the night, but his hang on the rim dunk over Drummond woke Detroit up and they made things interesting in the fourth. He's the most talented player out there; he just needs more experience. You never want to give the other teams lockerroom material for the next time they play you. Collins gets an A+ from me; he got us back in the game in the second quarter with the way he boxed out hard and let the other teammates get defensive boards. He was the one guy who could keep Detroit off the boards.